Housing leads MJ building decrease

Less housing construction has cut city hall permit values to under half last year’s total after the first quarter.

Housing starts sit at two worth $571,000 – a reduction of $3.1 million.

Building values year to date of $2.76 million are down 58 per cent from March 31 levels in 2019.

March 2020 permits fell $1.5 million from last March to $1.2 million,

Major permits during March included $384,000 for a retail building in the Civic Centre Plaza; $255,000 for Dr. Ramadan’s office on Highland Road; and $400,000 for Main Street Dental office development.

By Ron Walter - For Agri-Mart Express

For a few days in early April there was hope and confusion among canola growers.

China, which blacklisted canola exports from Canada last year, seemed prepared to re-open the market.

The Chinese relaxed a restriction on dockage of canola to one per cent from 2.5 per cent. Dockage is a reduction in weight to allow for unwanted matter like weeds.

The relaxed dockage requirement had the canola industry thinking China will accept canola exports from here.

Federal Agriculture Minister Anne-Marie Bibeau said that Viterra and Richardson International remain delisted for Chinese imports of canola.

External Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said that positive talks to allow Canadian canola exports to China are ongoing.

Canada shipped about 30 per cent of usual canola exports to China in 2019. Usually Canada exported 40 per cent of the $2.7 billion crop to China.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net